Batak Reburial Tombs

Mangokkal Holi is a Bataknese traditional ceremony that aims at giving respect to the ancestor. In the ceremony, the family digs the cemetery of the ancestor and places it to a new coffin. But, it is not merely an action of replacing the old coffin to the new one, because there is a profound meaning beyond that action. The rituals that included in the ceremony mark the meaning; the family who holds mangokkal holi tradition should conduct several meetings that attended by the relatives from both sides of the parents. In the meetings, the families consult and discuss the details of the mangokkal holi ceremony, such as the degree of the party, or who will receive a particular ulos (Bataknese traditional cloth) that marked the fullness of the ceremony.

In the D-day, the family, the relatives and all of the people they invited go to the ancestor’s cemetery to witness the excavation. Each person has a chance to dig the cemetery. The ancestor bones has to be washed before place it back into the new coffin, this time the coffin size is smaller then the regular one. On the next following day, the family, all the relatives and all the people who invited come to celebrates the top of the ceremony and take part according their degree on the family. The tradition of Mangokkal Holi In this story were held by the Clan of Simatupang in Pahae Jae sub-district, an area that is part of North Tapanuli district of Medan city, North Sumatra, Indonesia.